The Matanzas Pirates pushed their score all the way to 58 on Saturday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell to Cocoa 63-58. Matanzas has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the loss, Matanzas still got an impressive performance from Rya'sir Jefferson, who scored 25 points along with two steals. That was a full 43.1% of Matanzas' points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Tariq Shakir, who scored 15 points.
Kamari Haynes was on fire for Cocoa: he dropped a double-double on 25 points and 13 rebounds. That's the first time this season that Haynes scored 15 or more points. Naterrious Atkins was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with two steals.
Matanzas' defeat dropped their record down to 8-12. As for Cocoa, their victory ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 5-9.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Matanzas will take on Menendez at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Menendez is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak. As for Cocoa, Cocoa and Pathways will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 23rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Pathways presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Cocoa in Florida (Pathways is ranked 203rd, while Cocoa is ranked 454th).
